BBQ pop-up Texas Joe’s to open permanent site in London’s Bermondsey

Texas Joe’s, a former pop-up specialising in BBQ meat, is to open its first permanent location in London’s Bermondsey on 4 July.

From Texas-born entrepreneur Joe Walters, the 70-cover Texas Joe’s Slow Smoked Meats site will have a 500-pound (226 kilos) capacity rotisserie, which will help create the menu of traditional, ‘low and slow’ smoked meats and cuts.

Texas Joe’s originally operated as a pop-up, notably within the BrewDog bar in London’s Shoreditch in 2013, and it was previously backed by investors including BrewDog’s co-founder James Watt. It appeared on the BBC TV show Dragons’ Den in August 2013, and received a £50,000 investment pledge from ‘dragon’ Peter Jones in return for a 24% stake, but this eventually fell through. Walters' current business partner is Simon Lyons.

The brand eventually opened a location in Farringdon in 2013, but this then closed.

Typical menu options will include USDA beef brisket, beef prime rib and pork shoulder, as well as mutton shoulder and ribs smoked over English oak – in fresh tacos, thick-cut sandwiches, with sides such as bone marrow, chilli salt, oxtail chilli, and ‘brisket nachos’. As much of the meat as possible will be sourced from the local area, including English lamb from Bermondsey butcher Nathan Mills of The Butchery.

Décor-wise, everything will be directly inspired by Texas, with the menus printed in the style of a 1936 Texan newspaper, named The Big Smoke Signal, featuring real articles from Texan journalists such as Daniel Vaughn, BBQ editor at Texas Monthly.

The interior design will also take inspiration from ‘backroad BBQ joints’, with vintage or handmade furniture, a separate bar area serving US bourbons, as well as Texan Lone Star lager, and beers from Camden Town and Kernal Brewery in Bermondsey.

Founder Walters said: “At Texas Joe’s we’re bringing Londoners a true taste of authentic Texan BBQ – the kind of rich, flavoursome, slow smoked meats that I grew up eating. I’m also really excited about the bar area. It’s going to have the feel of an underground beer bunker where you can let a few tears fall into your drink before taking a short trip into BBQ redemption.”

Born and educated in Texas, Walters began his hospitality career in Los Angeles, before moving to London and starting the Original Jerky Company in 2011, selling traditional Texas-style beef jerky in supermarkets.